New Direction?

Been to WDW/DLR At least 25 times..combining the two...
IMHO, They are going in the RIGHT direction.
Theming is great..parks are clean and in great shape.
I love the recent refurbs/improvements....my daughter can't wait for Frozen at the Norway pav.
The new mine ride is superb. I have no complaints about WDW/DLR. Like I said...I think both the direction and the current state of the parks is as good as ever. We have nothing but great times and great memories. I suppose it is easy for folks to complain or see the negative..but life is too short for that. I just don't see the negatives.
We love Disney and all the magic!! Going back in May!! POP Century!! And, yes..I find F.P.+ easy to use as well. Cant understand all the confusion...it is pretty straight forward.:thumbsup:
All is well!!
Note.....I do miss Toad, But thats what D.L. is for. They both have unique attractions.

I remember when MK opened and what Disney was like compared to now. With all the changes, I'm beginning to think Disney doesn't want to bother with the concept of how it all started. Just a Daddy and his two girls wanting a place to go.

Now that the FP+ and MM+ buildup and rollout are complete, I have this sense that we are about to see some major construction at the theme parks.

We know about Avatarland, as well as the night time entertainment, which tells me there will be enough to make AK to be a full day park.

There are also several rumors about HS - Pixarland, Carsland, Star Wars Land, etc.

Flamingo Crossing is starting to add rooms on property.

On a separate thought - I actually like FP+, and think it is a great success. My family and I have been able to use it on two vacations now. Because of the ability to book our FPs in advance, these past two vacations have been the most enjoyable at WDW for quite some time. W

AndrewJackson;2447656 wrote: Now that the FP+ and MM+ buildup and rollout are complete, I have this sense that we are about to see some major construction at the theme parks.

We know about Avatarland, as well as the night time entertainment, which tells me there will be enough to make AK to be a full day park.

There are also several rumors about HS - Pixarland, Carsland, Star Wars Land, etc.

Flamingo Crossing is starting to add rooms on property.

On a separate thought - I actually like FP+, and think it is a great success. My family and I have been able to use it on two vacations now. Because of the ability to book our FPs in advance, these past two vacations have been the most enjoyable at WDW for quite some time. W

I thought the same thing about FP+. It really has made the trip MORE enjoyable. :thumbsup: Simply cannot understand how some folks can't figure it out though...:confused: I don't think something could be more easy to use and a Disney vacation has never been as easy to plan.

manutd1;2447661 wrote: I thought the same thing about FP+. It really has made the trip MORE enjoyable. :thumbsup: Simply cannot understand how some folks can't figure it out though...:confused: I don't think something could be more easy to use and a Disney vacation has never been as easy to plan.

I don't think the problem is understanding it, at least not for most. The problem is having to plan the exact hour you want to do attractions 2 months before you go. I'm a big planner, so it's not a huge deal for us, but knowing the exact hour is pretty ridiculous. The convenience of not having to run around the parks getting fastpasses is great, but I hate that you have to ride within that specified hour, rather than anytime after your window opened like it used to be. The tiers are also a negative.

I expect to see changes in the parks. If nothing changed, we would go a lot less often (it's once every 2 years now, with other trips in between). Yeah, I get a little sad when something we like closes. And, adapting to some of the changes can be bumpy. But, our last trip was full on FP+, New Fantasyland, MM, and it was, once again, an awesome trip full of wonderful memories.

I was dubious about FP+ and it was a little stressful doing it the first time, but it worked out for us. We actually rode TSM for the first time thanks to FP+. Now I have to admit, if Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mtn, BTMRR or Small World were closing, I think I would actually cry.

There's no way any of us can say what kids today will look back on with nostalgia. That's a very personal thing. And, with Frozen being such a huge hit, there are so many kids who are going to remember meeting Anna & Elsa and going on the ride.

TheVBs;2447738 wrote: I expect to see changes in the parks. If nothing changed, we would go a lot less often (it's once every 2 years now, with other trips in between). Yeah, I get a little sad when something we like closes. And, adapting to some of the changes can be bumpy.

I think that most people expect change, it's just that those who feel the parks are going in the wrong direction think that the changes are the wrong changes. And we have some pretty pessimistic people on these boards.

I don't think that you can take a look at all of the changes together and say that it's going in a right or wrong direction. I love some of the changes, are OK with others, and think that they've totally blown a few others.

I like New Fantasyland and what it brings to the park. I like the new Mine Cart ride, and don't miss the classic Snow White one bit.

I am OK with Maelstrom (which I liked) being replaced with Frozen. Maelstrom was weird, to be sure. It certainly didn't make me want to visit Norway. However, the cute cast members from Norway did....

I thought that removing Off Kilter and replacing it with the Lumberjack Show was awful.

I am hopeful that Avatarland, and whatever they add to DHS will be well done.

azcavalier;2447761 wrote:
I don't think that you can take a look at all of the changes together and say that it's going in a right or wrong direction. I love some of the changes, are OK with others, and think that they've totally blown a few others.

I think that's an excellent way to put it! Throw in that there are lots of different opinions on what's a good change and what's a bad change, which makes it even harder to define.

I am a long time visitor since 1979 and I am used to the days of just relaxing and putting your phone away in the Theme Park and being away from the real world which is what the Magic Kingdom used to be about. I have phones and planning all the time at work and I want to be away from my phone and mobile apps.

Secondly on our last trip we did a room only reservation and everytime we entered the park the bands would cause Mickey to swirl and never turn green. We must have had a colection of over 50 gray bands and three hours until the problem was finally fixed.

Thirdly, there is nothing for me to get excited about I remember reading magazines and thinking how cool a Splash Mountain sounds with a ride of length and substance and how exciting the Twilight one was going to be. I am looking at Avatarland and the new Fantasyland and reading about their rides and I am not getting really excited about it. It seems like the same ride technology such as a Kooka Arm and Soaring Ideas that have been used in the past and by other theme parks hopefully I am wrong. The Fastpass Plus to me forces lines on rides which previously never had them before. Spaceship Earth one day had a lione longer then Test Track.

Fourthly the food has gotten much less in variety since the dining plan and also I wonder how many people do not leave a tip as the meal is allready paid for.

I therefore see a cheapining of the brand, even though I was just there in February and still had an excellent time though I enjoyed riding the classic attraction which to me are repeat ride attractions even in the same trip, whereas some of the new rides you ride once a trip and that is enough.

The substance of the question, I think, is a subject on which my feelings are well documented. Like on every single podcast we've ever recorded lol

But at the end of the day, here's the deal. WDW is constantly jam packed. They're raking money in hand over fist. They have a clear business plan that does not involve catering to repeat guests. They want the once-in-a-lifetime guests that are going to spare no expense.

Those of us that try to go two or three times a year and know how to exploit all the loopholes to keep costs down are not folks in which they're particularly interested. You can tell just from looking at all the little pricing adjustments they've made recently. Think that massive increase in the price of AP's was a coincidence? Nope.

Is this good? Bad? I don't know. Only time will tell. I have my thoughts, but I'm not sitting in their boardrooms privy to all their long term plans so what do I know? Ten years from now we'll know. What I do know is this ... by and large when my family goes we still have a great time. Is it perfect? No. Are there things I really wish would change? Yes. But it's still the best family time going in my opinion. The kids love it and we love watching the kids love it. :mickey:

Ian;2448078 wrote: The substance of the question, I think, is a subject on which my feelings are well documented. Like on every single podcast we've ever recorded lol

But at the end of the day, here's the deal. WDW is constantly jam packed. They're raking money in hand over fist. They have a clear business plan that does not involve catering to repeat guests. They want the once-in-a-lifetime guests that are going to spare no expense.

Those of us that try to go two or three times a year and know how to exploit all the loopholes to keep costs down are not folks in which they're particularly interested. You can tell just from looking at all the little pricing adjustments they've made recently. Think that massive increase in the price of AP's was a coincidence? Nope.

Is this good? Bad? I don't know. Only time will tell. I have my thoughts, but I'm not sitting in their boardrooms privy to all their long term plans so what do I know? Ten years from now we'll know. What I do know is this ... by and large when my family goes we still have a great time. Is it perfect? No. Are there things I really wish would change? Yes. But it's still the best family time going in my opinion. The kids love it and we love watching the kids love it. :mickey:

Excellent way of putting it, Ian.

In the scheme of things it all comes down to, in financial terms, your own personal ROI.